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In what is said to be one of his harsh statements since taking office, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warned the leader of the Oromo Liberation Front that he cannot combine legal and peaceful political activity with armed struggle.
Borkena
May 2, 2020
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been criticized for being too soft on radical Oromo nationalist groups such as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). But this week, he warned the leader that they must choose between a peaceful fight or an armed fight.
He spoke this week when he met with opposition party leaders to discuss how to organize the next general election after the scheduled one was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
While acknowledging that COVID 19 had hampered the elections, OLF leader Dawud Ibsa made no secret of how he felt about the cancellation: “With all its shortcomings, we expected the election to bring something, but COVID [19] It happened, “he said as he asked the Prime Minister his question.
However, he stressed that the government should avoid using “loopholes” for the situation. In addition, he criticized the Abiy Ahmed government for what it called “a continuous violation of human rights during the COVID 19 state of emergency.” Not only in Oromia but also outside of it, ”he told Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
He framed his question in a way of claiming that the Abiy Ahmed government is deliberately violating human rights violations by exploiting the state of emergency. “
In his response, Abiy first tried to explain how “complicated” it is to apply preventive measures against COVID 19. A little later, he demanded specificity: “if there is any specific problem that its members are experiencing, we can discuss it.”
He then strongly warned the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a radical ethnic nationalist party, to stop playing double games in politics. “You cannot bear the peaceful and legal struggle and armed activity.”
He went further to condemn what he called fifty years of intrigue and conspiracy politics in Ethiopia. Hinting that there is a risk of military aggression against Ethiopia, which he did not specify, he condemned some political forces for working with enemies of Ethiopia. He boldly called them “gang,” a term coined to describe those who sided with fascist Italy when Ethiopia was invaded in the 1930s.
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) as an armed movement based in Eritrea for decades and returned to Ethiopia in September 2018 after the Abiy Ahmed government invited all opposition groups to return home and operate in a peaceful politics.
Shortly after returning to the country, the OLF leadership ignored the government’s demand to disarm and operate peacefully until mid-2019. There are still armed activities in the university area of western Ethiopia, but OLF claims it has nothing to do with the group. armed in the region.
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